Champlain College Library 2014 MISO Survey Report September, 2014 4 3 2 1 0 Contents: Executive Summary 1 About the MISO Survey 1 About the Respondents 2 About this Report 2 Traditional Undergraduate Students 6 Graduate Students 8 Continuing Professional Studies Students 11 Faculty 14 Staff 17 Overall Discussion 19 Compiled and written by: Mandy Boyers l Andy Burkhardt l Alan Carbery l Janet Cottrell l Joe Sikowitz
Many thanks to the students, faculty members, and staff members who took the time to answer the MISO survey. Your interest and willingness to share your opinions has provided us with a wealth of useful information to improve our services. Copyright 2014, Champlain College LET US DARE
Champlain College Library 2014 MISO Survey Report September, 2014 Executive Summary In the spring semester of 2014, Champlain College administered the MISO Survey, a web-based quantitative survey designed to measure how faculty, students, and staff view both library and computing services. The survey was administered to five specific populations: Traditional undergraduate students, Graduate students, CPS students, Faculty, and Staff (excluding employees of the Library and Information Services departments). This report focuses on ratings of importance and satisfaction for library resources and services, with a special emphasis on identifying high priorities. The results for each constituency are reported separately. When the results are viewed as a whole, some of the themes that emerged include: All populations expressed very high satisfaction levels for all questions related to the library, with all averages above 3.4 on a scale of 1 to 4. In particular, every constituency expressed very high levels of satisfaction with overall library service; the average ratings across populations exceeded 3.7. Notably, Champlain faculty members ratings for overall library service were significantly higher than those of other schools. All populations found librarians to be friendly, knowledgeable, reliable, and responsive. Average ratings across populations for these factors exceeded 3.84, with many exceeding 3.9. Library as place emerged as an area of special importance for traditional undergraduates not surprisingly, since this is the population who uses the facility the most. Undergrads rated aspects of the facility highly in terms of satisfaction, but satisfaction exceeded importance by only a small margin, indicating that these areas will need ongoing attention. Collections, especially ebooks, emerged as an area that needs more study and attention. Library instruction and information literacy emerged as an important area for development for graduate and CPS students. The library could benefit from greater input into library decisions from all populations. The library will soon be following up on these findings, and we look forward to working with students, faculty, and staff in the coming year. About the MISO Survey In the spring semester of 2014, Champlain College administered the MISO Survey in order to gain feedback about a wide range of library and computing services. The MISO Survey is a web-based quantitative survey designed to measure how faculty, students, and staff view both library and computing services. Originally designed by a nonprofit group of colleges and now administered through Bryn Mawr, the MISO Survey allows us to tailor our survey from a wide array of research questions, such as: What services and resources are important to our constituents, and how successfully do our organizations deliver them? Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 1
How effectively do we communicate with our campus communities about our services and resources? How skilled are our constituents in the use of software and library databases? What additional skills do they wish to learn, and how do they wish to learn? Which software and hardware tools do our constituents use, and which of these tools do they own? What roles do our constituents play on campus? What demographic factors identify them? What benchmarks can be established for excellent delivery of library and computing services? About 40 other schools used MISO in 2014, providing comparative data. While these schools are not necessarily in Champlain s usual comparison groups (overlap, aspirational, etc.), this benchmark data is still useful in helping to learn whether Champlain s results are similar to those of other colleges and universities. This was the first time Champlain administered the MISO survey. In this first implementation, the hope was to establish the instrument as a viable survey tool for our campus and to gain insight into current perceptions. The tentative plan is to repeat the survey on a three-year schedule. The question set can be adjusted for each population at each use, as needed, but some questions will be repeated, allowing comparisons over time to be examined. Learn more about MISO at http://www.misosurvey.org. About the Respondents Champlain surveyed a total of 2,272 members of the college, from all major constituencies including the following populations: A sample of traditional undergraduate students. In order to avoid over-surveying students who were already being asked to participate in other national benchmarking surveys, a subset of 521 undergraduates (25% of the total traditional undergraduate population) were asked to participate in MISO. The sample was stratified by factors such as year and gender; we plan to examine whether the actual respondents were representative of the undergraduate population as a whole. The response rate for traditional undergraduate students was 52.2%. All graduate students. All 406 graduate students were asked to participate; the response rate was 35.5%. All CPS students. All 642 Continuing Professional Studies students were asked to participate. Their response rate was 22.1%. All faculty members. Full-time and part-time faculty members (excluding Library faculty) were asked to participate, for a total of 440. The response rate was 44.1%. All staff members. Full-time and part-time staff members, totaling 263, were invited to participate (excluding Library and Information Services staff). The response rate was 65.4%. Note: Members of the library and computing services departments were excluded from the faculty and staff surveys according to guidelines set by the survey developer. MISO developers report that response rates tend to be high for this survey in comparison to others, and Champlain was no exception, with an overall response rate of over 40% (924 responses). About this Report Like many survey instruments, MISO produces a rich set of data. Each population (Traditional students, Graduate students, CPS students, Faculty, and Staff) is reported separately in this report, providing readers a snapshot of specific populations of interest. Interpretation is included in each section, with overall interpretation and projections at the end of the report. This preliminary report focuses on a specific question: Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 2
Are people in each survey population satisfied with specific library resources or services, and especially with those library resources or services that they find most important? In order to spot trends, the results for each population are presented in visual form using two different types of graphs. Quadrant charts The first type of chart is a specialized type of scattergram plotting importance on the horizontal axis and satisfaction on the vertical axis. For each constituency, each data point represents the average importance and the average satisfaction level for one question related to library resources or services. These data points are then compared to the median for all questions (both library and computing) in the survey answered by that constituency. Comparing each data point to the median shows its relative importance and satisfaction level: each point is either greater than or less than the mid-level value for importance, and greater than or less than the mid-level value for satisfaction. Thus, the graph shows four quadrants: higher and lower levels of satisfaction combined with higher and lower levels of importance. This type of quadrant chart makes it easier to spot high points those items that are high in both importance and satisfaction, and thus worth celebrating and areas needing attention those items which are perceived as high in importance but lower in satisfaction, and thus likely candidates for prioritization. These are the upper right and lower right quadrants of the graph, respectively. Items in the two quadrants on the left side of the graph are rated lower in overall importance but are still worth looking at: those in the upper left may be worth advertising or promoting, and those in the lower left may be worth improving. PROMOTE Median importance for all questions answered by this population CELEBRATE Satisfaction People are satisfied with items in this! quadrant; they are less important. Items in this quadrant are important and! people are satisfied! Median satisfaction for all questions answered by this population People are less satisfied with items in this quadrant; they are less important.! Items in this quadrant are important but people are less satisfied.! IMPROVE Importance PRIORITIZE A quadrant chart is included for each population: Traditional students, Graduate students, CPS students, Faculty, and Staff. The x and y axis for each population is determined by the median importance and satisfaction reported for all questions in the survey answered by that population including both library and computing questions. Thus, ratings of importance and satisfaction within the traditional student body are considered in comparison to their total response set, while the ratings of importance and satisfaction reported by Faculty are relative to theirs. Note: Satisfaction levels were generally high (above 3 on the scale of 1 to 4); therefore, the vertical axis in these graphs is expanded to cover only that part of the scale between 3 and 4. Without adjusting the Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 3
satisfaction axis, data points would be tightly clustered (below, left); expanding it allows nuances in the data points to be visible (below, right): Data points cluster tightly and are hard to read when the vertical axis ranges from 1 to 4. The same data points are easier to read when the vertical axis ranges from 3 to 4. Radar charts The second type of chart used in this report is known as a radar chart or sometimes called a spider web because of the shape of the chart. A radar chart is especially helpful in seeing how two measures compare. In our survey, we asked people to rate both the importance of a resource or service, and their satisfaction with it. These two measures can be compared to create a gap score. If the average satisfaction rating for an item is greater than the average importance rating, the population is likely to feel well-served; if the satisfaction rating is lower than the importance, the population may feel underserved. Exploring this gap is another way to identify priorities. In these charts, there are no horizontal or vertical axes. Instead, the questions appear as spokes on a wheel, with the lowest value at the center hub (zero) and the highest possible value at the outer end of each spoke (4). Importance and satisfaction are plotted separately for each question. By plotting the questions in a circle and connecting all the importance data points and then connecting all the satisfaction data points, the graph takes on the appearance of a radar screen or spider web: 4 3 Each rib is one question 2 1 0 The green line represents Satisfaction levels The blue line represents Importance levels The gap between the blue line and the green line represents a discrepancy between Importance and Satisfaction The green circle in the chart above represents the average satisfaction level for each question; the blue circle represents the average importance rating. Areas where the two circles touch or overlap indicate possible areas needing attention. In the chart above, the two lines are very close together for four questions Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 4
on the left side of the chart, indicating that satisfaction is outpacing importance for those questions, but just barely. If importance exceeded satisfaction for any topics, the circles would cross, indicating an area of high perceived importance in which people are less satisfied: 4 3 2 Areas where Importance exceeds Satisfaction may need special attention 1 0 A radar chart is included for each population surveyed, including Traditional students, Graduate students, CPS students, Faculty, and Staff. Note: The surveys for faculty and staff contained fewer questions, which affects the shape of their radar charts. Notice that the scattergram compares the relative importance and satisfaction levels for each question answered by that population compared to the median values for all the questions answered by that population, while the radar chart compares the average importance level for a question with the satisfaction level for the same question. The Library thanks Michelle Miller for her help in developing these approaches. Yet to come This report focuses on the relative importance and satisfaction reported by all populations. Additional information about how informed respondents feel as well as self-reported skill levels and interest in learning more about various skills is also available and will be examined for useful implications. The survey results also include reports of devices owned, which may be useful in figuring out how to reach constituencies. MISO also provides information on how Champlain s populations compare with peers at other colleges and universities who used the survey in 2014. That comparative data may be examined as well. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 5
Traditional Undergraduate Students! Description The physical space in the library is most important to traditional undergraduates. The aspects of the library they value most include: physical comfort quiet and group study spaces public computers in the library Fortunately, these are areas in which the library meets their needs. Satisfaction with all of these physical spaces is high and above the median. In addition students value overall library service and it is the area, along with the library website, with which they are most satisfied. Median satisfaction rating = 3.43; median importance rating = 3.06! Likewise, library services including both reference and circulation meet with a higher level of satisfaction from students, though these resources are valued less than the physical space. To traditional undergraduate students, library resources are less important than physical space. Resources including the website and databases have high levels of satisfaction, whereas other resources have satisfaction levels below the median. These include: the physical collection e-books subject guides Library research instruction for courses is an area where students are also less satisfied and less important compared to other areas. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 6
Discussion Library as Place. For traditional on-campus students the library is a destination. It s a place to go to work on group projects for class and also a place to study in quiet. There is a desire for both collaborative spaces as well as spaces for dedicated solo work. It will be necessary for the library to keep both of these needs in mind when we look at purchasing furniture, technology, and creating learning environments that suit multiple modes of academic work. With space at a premium on college campuses there are few places that students can go to concentrate on in depth academic work or collaborate with others. Having this space is extremely important to traditional undergraduates and is something that the library will have to make efforts to maintain and expand. The building is often very busy and study rooms are often at a premium. Making sure that there is sufficient, supportive space for traditional students to do the work of academia should be a top priority for the library. Human Touch. From the MISO data it is clear that for the traditional undergraduate population, the library is a comfortable supportive place. This population is quite satisfied with overall library service and views the environment as physically comfortable. Both the library reference and circulation staff are viewed as friendly and responsive. This is a strength upon which the library should continue to build. Questions for further exploration Subject guides as they currently exist do not seem as important to traditional undergraduate students. o How could these be made more useful and valuable? o Is this the population we are trying to serve with this service? Our physical collection is less satisfying than other resources, yet our building was purposefully built to focus less on physical resources. o Is this sentiment because of the small size or because it isn t relevant to student needs? o Are there ways to better promote existing services such as reciprocal borrowing with other local colleges and interlibrary loan? Instruction in classes is viewed as less important and satisfying to traditional students. o Why do students feel this way? o What is the experience of students in the classroom? Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 7
Graduate Students Description Champlain College graduate students consistently rated their satisfaction with the library s services high, while recognizing a wider range of importance for those same services. The average satisfaction rating for library services by graduate students was 3.6 on a four point scale. The scatter chart of graduate student importance and satisfaction shows a mixed distribution of data when compared against the medians of the campus-wide survey categories. There are three to four services that fall into each quadrant of the scatter chart, with group study spaces having low importance and falling on the median for satisfaction.! Median satisfaction rating = 3.62; median importance rating = 2.77! The high satisfaction ratings for all library services demonstrate that, overall, graduate students feel the library provides excellent service in all areas surveyed. The survey responses in the upper right quadrant of the scatter chart show service areas of high importance and high satisfaction within the library and include: Overall library service Library website Reference services Library databases For the graduate student population, the most important service areas for prioritization fall in the lower right quadrant of the scatter chart. This area includes those services that had a high importance rating but a lower satisfaction rating compared to the medians. This does not indicate that graduate students were not satisfied in these areas, but that the satisfaction was lower than the campus-wide median for satisfaction ratings. These services include: Input into library decisions Instruction in courses ebooks! Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 8
The accompanying radar chart reinforces that there is consistently high satisfaction among graduate students in all areas, but that some services are not of high importance to graduate students. The gap between importance and satisfaction is represented by the space between the two lines in the radar chart. As indicated by the satisfaction line (green) always outside of the importance line (blue) on the radar chart, satisfaction exceeds importance in every category for the graduate student population. The importance of these services, however, varies greatly in this survey. Categories in which the gap between importance and satisfaction is small may indicate areas where the library can continue to improve its level of service. Much like the results from the scatter chart analysis, the radar chart indicates that the physical aspects of the library are less important than online resources for graduate students including: Physical collections Circulation services Public computers in the library Group study spaces It is interesting to note that while these services were not highly important to graduate students, they were still highly satisfied with the library s level of service in each area. Discussion The high importance and high satisfaction ratings for the category of overall library service is a strong indication of the value that graduate students place on the library. While not every service has high importance for this population, they still recognize the broader value of the library to the campus. When looking at the scatter chart, it is apparent that graduate students value the digital resources of the library more than the library s physical attributes. This is an expected response from a student population that attends the majority of their classes online. Databases, reference services, and the library website, Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 9
which are all available online, are highly valued by these students. Moreover, it is consistent with the indepth nature of graduate level work that this population would value the library s research resources. An online service-driven approach to library services will best serve the graduate student population and should continue to be pursued by the library. Library databases and ebook collections had the highest levels of importance among graduate students. This is consistent with the expected needs of a largely online student population that engages in in-depth graduate level work. The small gap in the library database category as evident on the radar chart indicates that the library can continue to improve this service to increase graduate students satisfaction level. The gap between the ebook collection s satisfaction level and importance level is similarly small. This indicates a need to focus on developing this collection to better suit the needs of the graduate student population. Questions for Further Exploration In order to continually improve the satisfaction of graduate students with library services, further research should focus on: How do graduate students currently give the library feedback on services and how can it be improved? How can the library better integrate information literacy into graduate program curriculums? How can the ebook collection be made more relevant to each graduate program? Is the library scaling down its physical resources for graduate programs? If not, can those resources be used elsewhere? What do graduate students value about the library s website specifically? How can those design components be utilized in other online resources? How would an improved library discovery service improve the online experience for graduate students? Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 10
Continuing Professional Studies Students This section outlines the results from Continuing Professional Studies (CPS) students. The section concludes with an interpretation of these findings. Description Champlain College CPS students expressed high satisfaction with many aspects of library services and resources. An analysis of CPS student responses shows that for all questions, satisfaction ratings were higher than importance ratings. The average rating for satisfaction with library resources was 3.59. In particular, the library website, reference services, library databases and overall library services received high satisfaction ratings from CPS students. The radar chart clearly highlights some of the library services and resources that were ranked as high importance for CPS students. These high importance areas include e-book collections, library databases, the library website, input into library decisions, and overall library service. CPS students rated circulation services and physical collections as low importance. This is not surprising, as most CPS students are studying remotely. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 11
Median satisfaction rating = 3.58; median importance rating = 2.79 The scatter chart for CPS students maps and groups the results into clusters that can be transferred into action items for the library. These action items come under the heading of celebrate, prioritize, improve and promote. CPS students rated a number of services and resources as very important: E-Books; Library databases; The library website; Input into library decisions; Overall library services. Of these, they rated high satisfaction with databases, overall library services and the library website. These high satisfaction, high importance ratings are represented in the Celebrate quadrant of the scatter chart. CPS students rated lower satisfaction levels with Champlain College s e-books collection, and this is represented in the Prioritize quadrant of the scatter chart. CPS students rated library-led course instruction, reference services, and subject guides as less than median importance. Of these services, students rated high satisfaction with reference services. This is represented in the Promote section of the scatter chart (high satisfaction, lower importance). CPS students were less satisfied with subject guides and instruction in courses. CPS students rated the following as lower importance: Quiet space; Public computers; Group study space within the library; Circulation services; Physical library collections. Students also rated lower satisfaction levels with these services and collections, as illustrated within the Improve quadrant of the scatter chart. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 12
Discussion Having CPS students rate overall library services as both very important, and highly satisfying is a positive outcome for the library. This is particularly positive as growing the CPS student base has been identified as a high priority for the College. Similarly, the high satisfaction, high importance ratings for library databases and the library website are also significant, as CPS students rely entirely on both resources to access the library and our collections from remote locations off-campus. Seeing input into library decisions rated as high importance and high satisfaction is pleasing, and the library is exploring avenues to increase all student representation on input into library decisions. That the library s e-book collection was rated as high importance, but lower satisfaction levels is also very significant. E-Book collections are the only book and monograph collections readily available to CPS students, again restricted by their remote locality. Consistent access to e-books is a known problem from one our e-book collections (Safari Tech Books Online), which is heavily used by CPS faculty in teaching. It is likely that this known issue partly accounts for this lower satisfaction rating from CPS students. The library has already begun working with CPS faculty to identify possible solutions to the Safari Tech Online issues. It will be important for the library to delve further into this finding with CPS faculty and students to assert whether there are further issues with the library s e-book collections that need to be addressed. This has been identified as a high priority for the library. CPS students rated lower satisfaction with quiet spaces, public computers and group study spaces in the library, as well as circulation services and physical library collections. When we consider the profile of the CPS student, these results are not particularly surprising. Many CPS students are not located on or near campus, and so availing of facility-specific services and collections is not a priority for this group. Over 88% of CPS students responded that they never used circulation services over the course of a single semester. It raises a wider question for the library of whether these areas of service and collections can be targeted and improved for CPS students. The lower rating for library-led instruction and subject guides is important to note. Currently, CPS students receive no formal information literacy instruction within their course. While this has been identified as a priority goal within the library, this lower satisfaction rating from CPS students highlights the importance of this goal. The library is involved in early conversations with CPS about how to conceptualize and realize information literacy instruction, and other learning support services for CPS students. Questions for further exploration: How can the library explore ways to include CPS student representation on a student advisory board to the library? Outside of existing known issues with some of our e-book collections, what are the other factors that influence the lower satisfaction rating from CPS students for such an important service? Are there ways to make library building-dependent services and collections relevant and important for CPS students? How can we collaborate with the CPS Division and faculty to build a model of information literacy instruction and learning support for CPS students? Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 13
Faculty Description Champlain faculty members expressed strong satisfaction with most aspects of library resources and services: on a 4-point satisfaction scale, the average rating for every satisfaction question about the library was 3.37 or higher. A gap analysis of faculty responses shows that for all library-related questions, satisfaction ratings were higher than importance ratings: The shape of the radar chart and size of the gap indicates that the average satisfaction rating exceeds the average Importance rating for every question asked about library resources and services. This implies that there is a good alignment between the library s strengths and the faculty s sense of which resources and services are most important. In particular, Overall Library Service shows both high importance and high satisfaction ratings. The scattergram below helps to visualize where faculty members highest priorities lie. This graph shows the average rating for both importance (horizontal axis) and satisfaction (vertical axis) for each library question, compared to the median levels of importance and satisfaction for all questions in the survey, including both library and computing questions. This helps to identify areas of highest perceived importance across the board. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 14
! Median satisfaction rating = 3.51; median importance rating = 3.215 Compared to the full question set, faculty members rated two areas high in both importance and satisfaction: overall library service databases Aspects rated high in satisfaction but at a lower priority included: the Library website service areas (Circulation and Reference) instruction, aspects of the facility (public computers in the library, physical comfort) Areas that could be improved include: ebooks input into library decisions the physical collection In another section of the survey, faculty members rated librarians and library staff extremely high on being friendly, knowledgeable, reliable, and responsive, with average ratings between 3.81 and 3.97 on a 4-point scale. While comparative data from other schools is still in progress and not included in this report, one interesting finding did emerge in terms of overall satisfaction. The average rating by Champlain faculty for Overall Satisfaction with Library Services was significantly higher than the average for all schools who used the survey this year. In fact, Champlain s average faculty rating on that question was in the top 25% of the cohort of schools. Discussion Seeing Overall library service emerge as an item of high importance and high satisfaction for faculty members is truly something to celebrate. It is especially noteworthy because improving service to both faculty and students has been a key library goal for several years. Similarly, the high satisfaction/high Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 15
importance rating for Library Databases is noteworthy because of the focus on online resources encouraged by the design of the library facility. Several items, including the Library website, service areas, instruction, and items related to the facility, were rated high on satisfaction but lower in importance. Some of these may benefit from greater promotion or advertising. For example, the library website is the primary starting point for access to all online library resources, but its importance in that regard may not be widely recognized. That suggests that promoting the website as a starting point could be an important priority for the library in the coming year. Similarly, all traditional undergraduates receive library instruction in their first, second, and third years, yet library instruction in academic courses was perceived as less important by faculty members; perhaps that instructional program could be publicized more. Physical collection, ebooks, and Input into Library decisions were all rated as lower in satisfaction and also lower in importance by faculty. Champlain s physical collection is intentionally constrained in size by the design of the library facility. However, the library s goal is to ensure that however small, the print collection is vibrant and relevant to student s academic needs and faculty members academic preparations. It will be important to try to determine whether the lower satisfaction rating reflects the contents of the collection (which could be addressed over time) or is simply a reflection of its size (which is more fixed). The LARC committee will be an important group for preliminary conversations about this, and can serve as liaisons to their division on the topic. Similarly, consistent access to e-books is a known problem for one specific e-book collection (Safari Tech Books Online) but it will be important to learn whether there are other issues with e-books, either in terms of access or coverage. If possible, we will look deeper into the response set for this question to see whether there is any correlation between Satisfaction level and academic division. Regardless of whether there is or not, we are committed to improving satisfaction levels with this crucial resource. We are already working with CPS faculty to try to figure out an approach to the tech books problems. The lower rating for Input into Library decisions evidenced in the scattergram is cause for further attention. The library has already begun taking a more active role with the Library and Academic Resources Committee (LARC) of the Faculty Senate, which could play a key role in helping to interpret and improve that rating. The satisfaction level still exceeded the importance rating by a comfortable margin (as shown in the radar chart earlier), it was not alarmingly low (3.37), and it was not lower than the average level of faculty at other schools, but it does point to room for improvement. The data set that is currently available provides no insight into whether the priorities and satisfaction of part-time faculty differ at all from full-time faculty. That comparison (without any identifying information, of course) should become available soon. It is of particular interest because the needs and satisfaction levels may be different between the two groups, as may the most effective mechanisms for communicating with them. Questions for further exploration Why was library instruction in courses viewed as less important by faculty members? Could the existing instructional program be publicized more? How might faculty input into library decisions be increased? Some problems with e-books are known; do other problems or factors with them exist? Is satisfaction with the physical collection related to size, or content? Does it contain the right kinds of books to support courses? Is its intentionally small size an issue? Do full-time faculty members and part-time faculty members view library resources and services similarly? If differences do emerge, can we communicate with these populations effectively? Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 16
Staff Description Champlain College Staff expressed a very high satisfaction rate for overall library service (3.83 on a 4- point scale). While Staff did not assign high importance ratings to the library services (2.91 on a 4-point scale), the above radar chart clearly shows that they are satisfied with the library services when they do use them. These results are not surprising since many of our Staff do not use or need library services in their role at the college. The radar charts for Staff and Faculty look less circular and more jagged because there are not as many data points to connect. There were fewer importance and satisfaction questions on the Staff and Faculty surveys than on those for CPS, Graduate, and Traditional Students (10 and 11 questions respectively versus 14 questions for the 3 student populations). Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 17
Median satisfaction rating = 3.58; median importance rating = 2.91 The above quadrant chart for Staff helps identify action items based on the survey data by plotting importance and satisfaction against their median values. Again, the results show that Staff members are very satisfied with library services as there were no areas to prioritize for improvement. Overall library service held the highest ranking for importance even though it fell right at the median. Nevertheless, it is still reason to celebrate because satisfaction with overall library service was much higher than the median level. There were several other areas to promote within the library because Staff indicated satisfaction well above the median level for them: circulation services, library website, reference services, physical comfort, library databases, and public computers. While not rated as important by Staff, there were three potential areas for improvement with library services for Staff because they fell at or below the median level in satisfaction: physical collection, input into library decisions, and e-books. Discussion Staff had the highest response rate of any of our five populations with over 65% of them responding. We are pleased with both the high response rate from them and also that their satisfaction rating for overall library service was very high. When comparing Champlain s Staff results with the staff results at other colleges and universities who used the survey in 2014, our Staff was lower on both usage and importance for the physical library collection. We were not statistically different than the other schools for satisfaction on our physical collection and thus do not believe any action is warranted in this area. The one area where we could focus on improvement with Staff is our e-books. As compared to the other schools, our Staff indicated a statistically higher importance but lower satisfaction in this area. With over 78% of our Staff reporting that they never use our e-book collections over the course of a semester, it is not a high priority item. However, it may warrant further exploration as to how we can improve satisfaction for our Staff when they use our e-book collection. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 18
Questions for Further Exploration How can we make the physical collection more appealing to our Staff? o Do we need to expand our collection development in our popular reading section? Can we better advertise what we already offer in our collection that has less of an academic focus? How can we improve Staff satisfaction with our e-book collection? o Is there a particular subset of our e-book collection which is causing Staff to be less satisfied? o Is there a more general problem with e-book access or a training gap on how to access the e-books? How can we provide Staff with more ways to offer input into library decisions that may affect them? Overall Discussion The preceding sections give an in-depth view of opinions from each constituency that the library serves. In looking over the results of all populations, several overall themes emerge. On average, all populations show very high satisfaction levels for all questions related to the library. All averages on all questions were above 3.4 on a scale of 1 to 4. o In particular, every constituency shows very high levels of satisfaction with overall library service. The average ratings across populations exceeded 3.7. o Notably, the satisfaction rating of Champlain faculty members for overall library services is significantly higher than those of other schools. o All constituencies give library databases high marks in satisfaction (averaging over 3.6), and most regard them as highly important. The library website also rates highly in satisfaction across populations (averaging 3.75) but is viewed as less important. All populations found librarians to be friendly, knowledgeable, reliable, and responsive. Average ratings across populations for these factors exceeded 3.84, with many exceeding 3.9. Library as place emerged as an area of special importance for traditional undergraduates. o Traditional undergraduates rate physical aspects of the library (comfort, quiet space, group space, and computers) as very important not surprisingly, since this is the population who might be expected to use the facility the most. Undergrads also rate these aspects very highly in terms of satisfaction. o A gap analysis (radar chart) reveals that undergraduates satisfaction exceeds importance by only a small margin for these aspects, indicating that these areas will need ongoing attention. o Graduate and CPS students put less importance on library as place, as might be expected since they are typically online students. Collections, especially ebooks, emerged as an area that needs more study and attention. o All populations rate the physical collection lower in satisfaction but also lower in importance. The gap analysis for each population indicates a comfortable margin, but more information is needed in order to understand whether the satisfaction rating is tied to the intentionally small size of the collection, or to its content and coverage. o All populations rate ebooks lower in satisfaction, and for Graduate and CPS students, ebooks emerge as a high priority. The gap analyses indicate that satisfaction exceeded importance, but by only a small margin for these two constituencies. More information is needed to understand whether this lower satisfaction is tied to known problems with specific ebook collections or whether additional problems exist. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 19
Library instruction and information literacy emerged as an important area for development for graduate and CPS students. o Graduate students rated the importance of librarian-led instruction in courses as very important, while also rating lower satisfaction with the College s current efforts. This has been identified as a high priority rating for Graduate students. CPS students rated lower satisfaction librarian-led instruction in courses, although they also rated it as slightly less important. This has been identified as an area of improvement for CPS students. o Both graduate and CPS students also expressed lower satisfaction with the subject guides; although they rated this form of learning support as less important. The library could benefit from greater input into library decisions. o All populations show lower satisfaction with input into library decisions, and for CPS students, this area emerges as a priority. While the gap analyses indicates that satisfaction exceeds importance for all populations, this is an area of special interest for the library. As is often the case, the information provided by the survey raises almost as many questions as it answers, and the questions for further exploration identified for each population reflect this. Nonetheless, the themes identified above provide very helpful feedback both in terms of areas of high satisfaction and specific areas for attention. The library plans to follow up on these findings in the coming year. In particular, we plan to work closely with the Library and Academic Resources Committee of the Faculty Senate, the Graduate Studies office, Continuing Professional Studies, and a yet-to-be-formed undergraduate student advisory board, both to learn more about these constituencies and to improve the library resources and services they need. We look forward to working with Champlain students, faculty and staff members as we continue to explore what makes our library great, and how to keep it that way. Champlain College Library MISO 2014 Report / 20